Tools for mounting fuel pumps on engines



Dec. 7, 1965 E. H. NEWMAN 3,222,024

TOOLS FOR MOUNTING FUEL PUMPS ON ENGINES Filed May 26. 1964 INVENTOR.

z 'vewfz if Wewmam BY w a fhiw y United States Patent 3,222,024 TOOLSFOR MOUNTING FUEL PUMPS 0N ENGINES Everett H. Newman, Duncan, Okla,assignor of one-half to M. J. smothers, Amarillo, Tex. Filed May26,1964, Ser. No. 370,237 4 Claims. (Cl. 248316) This invention relatesto tools for mounting fuel pumps on engines, and more particularly totools for holding the push rods of modern Chevrolet V-8 engines up outof the way while loosely fitting the fuel pumps on to the engine blocksin preparation for mounting them.

Modern Chevrolet V-8 engines have fuel pumps located on the lower righthand side of their blocks. Each fuel pump has a lever which projectsinto an opening in block. A cam driven push rod works the lever back andforth so that it actuates a diaphragm in the pump.

The push rod is free-floating, i.e., it is not secured to anything. Theresult is that when a fuel pump is removed from the block, the push rodfalls down and has to be lifted up, and held up, before the pump canagain be installed or replaced, in order for the lever to be placedbeneath it.

Because of the location of the fuel pump on the block, it is verydifficult to install a new fuel pump on the block of a Chevrolet V-8engine without tearing down the whole assembly of hoses and other parts,especially if the engine is equipped with air conditioning apparatus.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple tool forraising and holding up the push rod of such an engine as that describeduntil the fuel pump is loosely fitted on the block, after which it canbe readily removed and the mounting of the fuel pump completed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription of two embodiments of the invention, when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmetary view of the front end of a Chevrolet V-8 enginewith the fuel pump thereof loosely fitted thereon and with a toolconstituting one form of the invention applied thereto and holding thepush rod thereof up out of the way while the pump is being installed;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the tool shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a second form of the invention and showing asegment of a Chevrolet V-8 engine of a different design than that ofFIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a front view of the tool of FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawing in detail, it will be seen that FIG. 1 shows aportion of a Chevrolet engine block at 10, with a fuel pump 11 looselypositioned thereon. One of the bolts which clamps the pump 11 to blockis designated 12. Shown extending diagonally, in dotted lines, is thepush rod 13, which is reciprocated by a cam (not shown) in the engine toengage a lever 14 which actuates the diaphragm of the pump 11.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a tool forholding the push rod 13 up while the pump 11 is loosely fitted inposition is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as consisting of a permanent magnet15 mounted on a small frame or arm 16 by a clamp 17.

The lower end of the frame 16 has a hole in which is fitted a shank 18,which is threaded and provided with a thumb nut 20.

As viewed in FIG. 2, the left hand side of the shank 18 supports a blade21 of resilient material, so that it can pivot to the right or left butnot move lengthwise on the shank or rotate upon it. Thus the shank 18may be provided with a slit into which the top of the blade 21 extendsand be secured by a pin 22.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1

and 2, the blade 21 may be a straight, flat rectangular piece of springsteel. A clip 23 of spring wire is clamped securely to the blade 21. Theclip 23 has portions which are semi-circular in shape and so spaced asto frictionally engage the push rod 13.

Since the blade 21 may be made of spring steel, it is within the scopeof the invention to have the clip 23 integral with the blade 21 andstamped out of the same stock, but this detail has not been illustrated,as it is obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may bemade in the structure without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

The operation of the tool shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is as follows:

When a defective fuel pump is removed from the engine block 10, the pushrod 13, which is freely floating in the block, falls down as soon as thelever 14 no longer supports it. Until the push rod is then raised up outof the way, it is impossible to mount a new or repaired fuel pump '11 onthe block. Due to the location of the pump, it is very difiicult to holdthe rod 13 up while inserting the lever 14 beneath it. Usually themechanic has to perform this operation with only one hand.

In accordance with the present invention, before attempting to place thelever 14 beneath the push rod 13, the tool is applied to the block byplacing the magnet 15 against the forward wall of the block 10. Theposition is adjusted until the shank 18 occupies approximately theposition shown in FIG. 1 in front of and above the opening in the block10.

When in proper position, the blade 21 extends into the opening in theengine block 10. The clip 23 is then snapped on to the rod 13 and theclip and rod are then raised up until the rod 13 is out of the way ofthe lever 14. The parts of the tool may then be adjusted, with orwithout loosening and then tightening the thumb-nut 20, the magnet 15permitting movement but holding the shank 18 in its adjusted position.

With the rod 13 properly held up out of the way, the pump 11 may then beeasily placed in the position shown in FIG. 1 and the bolts 12 startedinto their sockets in the block 10. When this has been accomplished, thetool can be removed from the rod 13, and from the block, by the simpleoperation of pulling it away. The clip 23 being yielda'ble, and theblade 21 being flexible to some extent, no problem arises as tointerference with parts of the pump 11 or the block 10.

The tool shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is particularly designed for use onChevrolet V-8 engines having 265, 283 and 327 cu. in. cylinderdisplacements, respectively.

On larger Chevrolet V-8 engines having 348 and 409 cu. in. cylinderdisplacements, a tool different than that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 may beemployed, and such a tool is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The larger Chevrolet V-8 engines mentioned have a bolt on the front partof the block near the right hand side thereof, which is used to connecta ground wire for the battery to the block. Such a bolt is shown in FIG.2 of the drawing at 25 and a small segment of such an engine block isshown at 26.

The tool of the present invention designed for use with the largerChevrolet V-8 engines does not employ a mag net to hold it in place, butthe small frame 27 is provided with a forked portion 28 at its upper endto be secured to the block 26 by the bolt 25.

The frame 27 is of a particular shape to accommodate the movementrequired as will be explained hereinafter. It is provided with a reversebend when viewed transversely, as shown in FIG. 3, and it is providedwith a lateral offset when viewed from the front, as illustrated in FIG.4.

There is a cylindrical rod or shank 29 pivoted upon the lower end of theframe 27. The pivot is such that the shank 29 cannot be extended morethan 90 from the vertical part of the frame, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

At the opposite end from the frame 27, the shank 29 is connected to ablade 30. The blade 30 is capable of swinging to the right or left onthe shank 30, as illustrated in FIG. 3, and the construction may be thesame as described above in connection with the embodiment of theinvention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The blade 30 may be made of the same material and be used similarly tothe blade 21. It should be noted, however, that the blade 30 is not thesame shape as the blade 21. It has a bend in it, as shown in FIG. 4,whereas the blade 21 has no bend.

The operation of the tool shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is similar to that ofFIGS. 1 and 2 insofar as raising and supporting the push rod 13 untilthe lever 14 is in place, and a description of this need not be repeatedhere. The removal of the tool from the block after the pump is looselymounted on the block is different, however.

On the larger Chevrolet V-8 engines, there are hoses and otherobstructions in front of the block, and the tool of FIGS, 3 and 4 isdesigned to overcome the, difficulties these incur.

To remove the tool from the block 26, the bolt 25 is loos ned and theframe 27 pulled down until the forked portion 28 is beneath the bolt 25.With the parts swung to the right of the block slightly, and with theshank still remaining in substantially a horizontal position and theclip of the blade 30 still engaging the push rod, the frame 27 may thenbe folded down along the shank 29 until it, too, is in nearly ahorizontal position. The tool can then be pulled away from the push rodand the installation of the pump completed.

While only two embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed herein, it is obviousthat various changes may be made in thearrangement and construction of parts without departing from the spiritof the invention or the scope of the annexed claims.

I claim:

1. In an automobile engine of the V-8 type of the class wherein a fuelpump is mounted adjacent an opening in the block and is actuated by apush rod which is freefloating in the block near the opening, thecombination with a push rod of a tool consisting of an arm having meansfor attaching the arm to the front end of the block, a shank attached tothe arm and extending to the side of the block above the openingtherein, a single blade of resilient material pivotally mounted on theshank and extending into the opening in the block, and a spring clip onthe lower end of the blade frictionally and yieldably grasping the pushrod in the block.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 in which said means for attachingthe arm to the engine block includes a permanent magnet.

3. The combination defined in claim 1 in which said shank is secured tosaid arm by a bolt and thumb-nut.

4. The combination defined in claim 1 in which said arm is provided witha reverse bend when viewed transversely and with a lateral offset whenviewed from the front.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 592,551 10/1897Mahon n. 248--315.5 X 1,176,203 3/1916 Comer 248229 1,319,247 10/1919Romig 24S-324 1,532,688 4/ 1925 Feuerstein 248229 1,759,417 5/1930Rabsil'ber 24851 2,506,400 5/ 1950 Wietz 248206 2,743,353 4/1956Nicholson et a1. 24052.15 2,888,617 5/1959 Baumet 317-159 3,083,0043/1963 Clark 26951 FOREIGN PATENTS 974,963 10/1950 France.

7,292 5/1915 Great Britain.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

1. IN AN AUTOMOBILE ENGINE OF THE V-8 TYPE OF THE CLASS WHEREIN A FUELPUMP IS MOUNTED ADJACENT AN OPENING IN THE BLOCK AND IS ACTUATED BY APUSH ROD WHICH IS FREE FLOATING IN THE BLOCK NEAR THE OPENING, THECOMBINATION WITH A PUSH ROD OF A TOOL CONSISTING OF AN ARM HAVING MEANSFOR ATTACHING THE ARM TO THE FRONT END OF THE BLOCK, A SHANK ATTACHED TOTHE ARM AND EXTENDING TO THE SIDE OF THE BLOCK ABOVE THE OPENINGTHEREIN, A SINGLE BLADES OF RESILIENT MATERIAL PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON THESHANK AND EXTENDING INTO THE OPENING IN THE BLOCK, AND A SPRING CLIP ONTHE LOWER END OF OF THE BLADE FRICTIONALLY AND YIELDABLY GRASPING THEPUSH ROD IN THE BLOCK.